Sarah Larimer

(c) 2014, The Washington Post.

Don’t worry, soccer fans. Teddy Goalsevelt isn’t going anywhere.

Mike D’Amico, a 31-year-old American now known by his patriotic, soccer-loving alter ego Teddy Goalsevelt, had only planned to stay in Brazil for one round of the FIFA World Cup. But then the U.S. team advanced, and the Internet — and D’Amico’s employer — decided he should stay, too.

“We here at Cavalry, the advertising agency where Teddy (Mike D’Amico) works, see him as the team’s mascot now,” Cavalry, D’Amico’s agency, wrote on a GoFundMe page earlier this week. “And we don’t think we’re alone.”

Cavalry was right. (Of course it was. After all, who doesn’t dig a good president gimmick?) The GoFundMe campaign has already met its $5,000 goal; additional donations will be directed to a charity of D’Amico’s choice. D’Amico hasn’t made a decision yet, but he said he’d like some of the money to stay in Brazil.

“I’m just some guy in kind of a DIY-not-even-really-that-impressive Teddy Roosevelt outfit,” D’Amico told The Washington Post by phone from Brazil. “Every step of the way, I’ve been kind of amazed at the interest and how much people seem to be enjoying it.”

D’Amico, an associate creative director at Cavalry, became an Internet sensation when cameras caught him cheering during the U.S.-Portugal match on Sunday.

“It’s just unbelievable,” he said. “I don’t know if many other workplaces would do that for their employee — to keep them out of work longer.”

D’Amico’s photo appeared on The Wall Street Journal’s front page, and according to Ad Age, he’s even received financial support from the most American of companies: McDonald’s.

And it keeps getting better and better. You can now buy a T-shirt with D’Amico’s face on it. And earlier this week, he made an appearance with Will Ferrell.

The U.S. advanced on Thursday, despite a loss to Germany. They’ll face Belgium on Tuesday.

“America is starting to care about soccer as much as me and my friends are. And that’s really awesome,” D’Amico said. “I hope it just keeps building when we beat Belgium.”

D’Amico, of course, will be there, in full Teddy Goalsevelt get-up: “They would never let me in another U.S. soccer match if I didn’t wear Teddy to the next one.”